Or maybe not. In any case, the dark country tunes that comprise Fear Fun, Tillman’s first release as Father John Misty, have received glowing reviews all over the place — the album reached the #4 spot on the CMJ Top 200 chart and #1 on the FMQB charts. Father John Misty has performed on Letterman and Last Call with Carson Daly and covered The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??” for The A.V. Club’s Undercover series, and he’s released videos for “Hollywood Forever Cemetery” and “Nancy From Now On” and “This Is Sally Hatchet,”, and, as far as I can tell, not a single tear has been shed.

After playing a couple late summer festivals, Father John Misty will be hitting the road for a fall tour, even making an appearance on two crazy cruise ships in December. He’s skipping over the Blue Ridge Mountains though, and not even coming close to Mykonos.

Or maybe not. In any case, the dark country tunes that comprise Fear Fun, Tillman’s first release as Father John Misty, have received glowing reviews all over the place — the album reached the #4 spot on the CMJ Top 200 chart and #1 on the FMQB charts. Father John Misty has performed on Letterman and Last Call with Carson Daly and covered The Flaming Lips’ “Do You Realize??” for The A.V. Club’s Undercover series, and he’s released videos for “Hollywood Forever Cemetery” and “Nancy From Now On” and “This Is Sally Hatchet,”, and, as far as I can tell, not a single tear has been shed.

After playing a couple late summer festivals, Father John Misty will be hitting the road for a fall tour, even making an appearance on two crazy cruise ships in December. He’s skipping over the Blue Ridge Mountains though, and not even coming close to Mykonos.

This warning goes out to all bands going on tour with Wild Nothing. You may party hard, but those guys party harder. Yes, I realize Jack Tatum and tourmates seem like they’re the presidents of The Cure fanclub. Yes, I realize that’s the not of kind of dudes that you think might party hard. Well, buddy, put on your “I’m wrong” hat, because you’re wrong. These guys make Van Halen look like Van Morrison and they may Van Morrison look like Van Morrissey. Van Morrissey is my Van Morrison and Morrissey cover band. We don’t party very hard.

Similarly-minded janglers DIIV are about to be in for a harsh lesson about partying. They’re accompanying Wild Nothing on their September tour of America. In actuality, they’re accompanying Wild Nothing on their September tour of UNITED STATES OF PARTYING. Also, Canada. In case you’ve forgotten from your own days of blackout drinking, Wild Nothing are releasing a new album called Nocturne on August 28 through Captured Tracks. All 10 songs are about keggers. Every song is about keggers. You’ve never heard a song in your life that wasn’t about keggers.

The Velvet Underground & Nico. That’s an album that’s pretty good! I did an informal poll of the Tiny Mix Tapes staff and at least five of our staffers referred to the album in terms at least as complimentary as “pretty good.” One of those staffers was me! I think that album is at least pretty good. However, I have never formed a band. I think the statute of limitations on that old thing might be over anyway.

As FACT Magazine reports, Warner is celebrating the album’s 45th anniversary with a six-disc reissue out on October 1. Clearly, the first disc is the album in stereo mix and, obviously, the second disc is the album in mono mix. Beyond that, things get a little less clear and obvious. The set’s third disc swerves from the predictable anniversary set path: a remastered edition of Nico’s 1967 debut Chelsea Girl. Strange! But not that strange, considering that Chelsea Girl contains music and songwriting contributions from members of The Velvet Underground. For maximum cheekiness, disc four of this set should just be The Velvet Underground’s 1969 self-titled album.

It’s not, though. Instead, the set’s fourth disc contains tracks from a session at Scepter Studios, which were sourced from an acetate cut on April 25, 1966, as well as six unreleased tracks from a rehearsal at Warhol’s Factory during January 1966. Rounding out the set are two discs of live material from shows at Columbus, Ohio’s Valleydale Ballroom. This is a good bit of Velvet Underground & Nico material. This is pretty good for an album that’s at least pretty good.

America’s most inappropriate band is about to become the Middle East’s! Constructors of catchy garage punk melodies and avid displayers of dick, Atlanta’s Black Lips have booked a two-week Middle Eastern tour to celebrate their latest, the appropriately-titled Arabia Mountain. (The album’s actually named after a REAL LIFE mountain outside of the band’s REAL LIFE home city.) Black Lips have already toured Australia, Thailand, Portugal, and India — where they famously fled the country after growing worried they’d be imprisoned for onstage naughtiness during a show in Chennai — so when the chance to tour Egypt, Dubai, and… Iraq came up, just like Van Halen, the boys jumped.

Bassist/vocalist Jared Swilley said, “We want to play everywhere on the planet, and the opportunity came up. We couldn’t say no. Anywhere that we haven’t been excites us. Not many Western bands have toured the region and to be one of the first is amazing. Adventures are the best.” Swilley adds, “People like music and having fun and I think that’s pretty universal.” So the Black Lips will venture on this fall, bringing their message of fun, rockin’ out, and inappropriately exposing oneself to audiences across this less-than-toured region. Beirut-based indie rockers Lazzy Lung will accompany Black Lips on select dates.

While the status of Sonic Youth is still in limbo following the unexpected breakup of Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore late last year, no one had any doubt that the two indie stalwarts would continue to make music in some capacity. In June, we reported that Moore was starting a new band called Chelsea Light Moving, and Gordon is scheduled to perform as a solo artist this fall at the UK’s Supersonic Festival. But now we have word from FACT on their first collaborative album since their separation, following what was thought to be a one-off single with Yoko Ono released in June as a fundraiser for the Ashinaga Rainbow House, a charity that is building a Rainbow House in Japan to support victims of the 2011 tsunami.

While it’s never funny to joke about breakups, it’s hard not to when Yoko Ono is involved. At least in this instance she’s bringing Kim and Thurston back together and giving us, their adoring public, the sense that even though they may not be romantically linked any longer, they’re going to continue to collaborate. The trio’s album is mysteriously titled YOKOKIMTHURSTON and will be released September 25.

YOKOKIMTHURSTON tracklisting:

01. I Missed You Listening
02. Running the Risk
03. I Never Told You, Did I?
04. Mirror Mirror
05. Let’s Get There
06. Early in the Morning